Kent State University • UXD (MS)

Reflective Journal

Blog: 6001 Principles & Concepts

Blood, Sweat & Tears

Work is called work for a reason, but that doesn’t mean it always has to be stressful, boring or anything—but fulfilling. Work is a process for growth, an opportunity to enhance self and all affected by contributions. Work is not just 9 to 5 just to stay alive—it’s eternal. I’ll never forget one of my first fights with a significant other regarding bad habits. I’ve somehow engrained a memory of hearing, “Relationships are not suppose to feel like work.”

Fast forward 2 years, all relationships feel like work. It takes lots of courage to be persistent and consistent. To be flexible in all you do, in hope that another can reciprocate. To reach a comfort in knowing what it means to be true to self. To have done all that you could.

Relationships are valuable, especially the one you’re in with yourself. We all have our demons and battles to work on and conquer. I hope we all have goals both short and long term. Work is timeless and something we often don’t realize we’re doing. Somehow in the process, some of us get lost in the work we do. We sometimes enter this singular state of mind with an end goal of reaching the light at the end of the tunnel. We run and spend our breaths fighting towards progress in getting to our destinations. We sacrifice opportunities at the stake of getting ahead in what we want for ourselves, but never forget the ones cheering you on from the sidelines.

I’m back at week one which focused more on motivation and applying design thinking. I am reminded everyday in passing that there are still a blend of generations incorporating use of modern and traditional formats to achieve a task.

Defining flows is the epitomize to why it is that I enjoy technology and interaction models in general. This has been a reflection of my growth as a designer seeking to understand hardware and software to develop designs.